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Sunday, December 4, 2016

Book Review: Once in a Snowstorm by Ofelia Gränd

Book Review: Once in a Snowstorm by Ofelia Gränd

Blurb

Daring a snowstorm might not be the smartest thing Aiden has ever done, but he can't stand being in his flat a moment longer. With only three days to Christmas, he doesn't want to be alone. He wants a place to belong, wants people around him who won't look down on him. He might not find all that at his mother's place, but at least it's better than being alone in the city. If he can make it there, that is.

Tristan is looking forward to a quiet night in front of the TV, but instead, he has to save an idiot in designer clothes from freezing to death in his forest. Tristan tries not to notice the man's good looks, just like he has tried not to notice any man's good looks for the last seven years. He knows where relationships go and is far better off living alone, with his dog, in his cabin.

Aiden is driving Tristan mad with his bratty comments and irresponsible ways, and Aiden is going crazy from Tristan's judgmental attitude. Luckily, in a few days, the weather will clear up, and the two men won't have to be together any longer. But will a few steamy nights with the grumpy lumberjack change Aiden's mind about wanting to leave? And will Tristan still want to go back to his peaceful, predictable life without fear of getting his heart broken?

“Og!” The dark and the snowflakes made it hard to see. Nothing but snow-covered tree trunks and not a dog to be found.

Another bark came from close by. Tristan squinted into the woods. Og’s bright eyes glowed in the dark. A white-spotted dog was not easy to locate when everything was white-spotted, but now Tristan knew what he was looking at, he could see that Og was indeed trapped. A dark figure held on to his collar, not that Og appeared to be bothered, judging by the happy thump of his tail against the snow, creating a white cloud around both him and the person on the ground.

Tristan took a careful step closer. His grip on the shovel tightened.What kind of lunatic comes into the woods in weather like this?

“Hello?” Tristan stopped a couple of metres away from the body—a man, he saw now—and waited for a response. Only a muffled groan came.Fuck!

Tristan dropped the shovel and hurried forward to the man and shook him lightly. “Hey. Come on, wake up.” The eyelids fluttered as the man tried to open his eyes. Tristan touched his forehead—icy cold. The man was almost completely covered in snow and his hair was wet—Tristan assumed his clothes were, too. Without thinking, he reached for the man’s hand, shook loose his fingers from Og’s collar, and started to pull him out of the snow.

He sighed as he took in the trendy jeans and sneakers.Why can’t people dress according to the weather?If Og hadn’t found him, he’d have frozen to death—he wouldn’t look so pretty in his designer clothes in a casket.

He hefted the man up in a fireman’s lift and started making his way towards the cabin. It was like carrying an ice block. He guessed he should be pleased about the man being short and small framed. His curly dark hair flopped around his face with each step Tristan took.

They weren’t far from the cabin, but ploughing through the snow with the extra weight of the man and Og running around his legs had Tristan sweating and out of breath in no time at all. He grunted as he sank knee-deep into the snow, mentally cursing the stupid man for walking into his forest. He couldn’t stay angry, though. He worried about the man being injured. It would be impossible to get an ambulance out here, and Tristan only had a basic knowledge of first aid. First, he needed to get him out of his wet clothes, that much he knew. Hypothermia was serious business.

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement. *

Once in a Snowstorm started as a joke between the writer and her friends. She decided to take every overused trope and cliché and shove them all into one novella.

Tristan is a lumberjack that lives in the woods in a small town and has a bad attitude through most of the story. Aiden lives in the city and when he lost his job decided to make a surprise visit to his mother’s for the holiday, hoping to be able to move back with her even though they hadn’t spoken in five years. He was not prepared to hit a snowstorm on his drive there.

Tristan is very unhappy when his dog discovers a nearly frozen Aiden on the ground. Though he’d prefer just to leave the city slicker on the frozen ground, he takes him back to his cabin and saves him. There’s very little interaction between the two and Tristan makes his feelings known. The next day, Tristan’s best friend calls needing his help and the men go to her diner, at which point, Tristan continues to hate Aidan and find fault in anything and everything he does. Aiden does his part by continuing to not act responsibility and both men find they continue to be stuck together. Then they continue to do their part in not communicating with each other.

And then things change, it seems one minute they hate each other and the next they’re in bed together and looking at a relationship. And then miscommunication happens again and they’re not together but, the HEA saves the day and they get through it and make their relationship work. By the end of their snowed in few days together, they’re in love and planning their future together including moving Aidan into Tristan’s.

If you enjoy novellas about stranded motorists and snowed in weekends, this is the one for you! This is a quick, instalove story for your snowbound day.

Rating: 3.5 stars

About the Author

Ofelia Gränd is Swedish, which often shines through in her stories. She likes to write about everyday people ending up in not-so-everyday situations, and hopefully also getting out of them. She writes contemporary and paranormal, and dreams about one day writing a post-apocalyptic story—if that ever happens we’ll see.

Her books are written for readers who want to take a break from their everyday life for an hour or two.

When Ofelia manages to tear herself from the screen and sneak away from husband and children, she likes to take walks in the woods. She’s recently discovered the miracle of podcasts and spends her strolls listening to wise people talk.